Stan Lee’s Legacy Immortalized During EXCELSIOR! Tribute

Last night members from Hollywood and thousands of adoring fans came together to honor the remarkable Stan Lee. The event, Excelsior! A Celebration of the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible & Uncanny Life of Stan Lee was simply beautiful. The event was held at the TCL Chinese Theater, where in 2017 Stan Lee had his hands and feet imprinted into the walkway during an event hosted by Legion M. It is in this very spot fans were able to leave flowers, candles and special mementos to honor him. They were also able to sign a book of condolences and share in the love with everyone.

During the forecourt activities, fans were able to enjoy artwork and iconic photos of Stan Lee, along with memorabilia. This included a special preview of RobPrior’s upcoming gallery, The Legacy Collection of StanLee. During the event he completed a live painting. Rob was not the only artist to contribute, Jennifer Contini featured images of Lee from her series, This Love Lives On. No event is complete without food of course White Castle Crave Mobiles served their famous sliders, a snack loved by Lee himself.

Kevin Smith had a special surprise for fans when he arrived. He assembled some of the best cosplayers in the industry and formed an honor guard full of iconic Stan Lee co-creations. They led the crowd in the final salute, accompanied by a police band of pipes and drums playing Amazing Grace. The American Legion of Hollywood Post 43, veterans from Veterans in Media & Entertainment and many more honored Lee for his service during WWII and his contributions and support of law enforcement and his mission to create safe communities.

Photo credit to Jason Laboy

After the Excelsior! forecourt activities, Kevin Smith moderated conversations with celebrity speakers from the entertainment industry. The attendee list included Seth Green, Michael Uslan, Tom DeSanto, Mark Hamill, Lawrence Fishburne, Wesley Snipes, Phil Lord, Amy Pascal, Felicia Day and many more. They shared their love for Stan Lee and personal stories of his inspiration. Nikki Frakes, the director of With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story shared a conversation she had with Lee. “I asked him, like he had been asked so many times, what would your superpower be? And normally he says ‘love’, but that night he said ‘immortality’. Looking out and seeing everyone here tonight I think we all know that he has achieved that immortality in each of us.”

Many groups worked together to bring this historic event to life. Terri Lubaroff and David Baxter from Legion M worked alongside members from Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment and Agents of Mayhem. All of their hard work, dedication and love for Stan Lee was seen throughout Excelsior! To continue honoring everything that Stan Lee stood for, all the net proceeds for the event will go to the non-profit organization The Hero Initiative. This charity works to support comic book creators, artists and writers in need. It is clear from all the love shown that Stan Lee lives on through all of us.